Holding court for two sold-out shows at the Hollywood Bowl this weekend, Georgia’s Zac Brown Band charged through a two-hour performance Saturday night that suggests the relatively young septet is already so strong, it’s starting to merit ranking in the company of such classic American rock forces as Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band and Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers.

They have not only comparable chops but increasingly wide appeal. Though those seeing the group live for the first time might have expected thousands of big belt buckles and cowboy hats and boots, the energized audience Friday night appeared just as diverse as at any rock concert, and for good reason. While fundamentally country, these Atlantans are thoroughbred musicians who manage to marry ambitious instrumentation with earnest songwriting. The result: a potent meld of Heartland rock and Southern sensibility that leaves nearly no room for objection.

As a makeshift curtain dropped at the otherwise airy Bowl, the band’s suggestive opening selection, “Jump Right In,” set the bar for the evening. There would be none of the lulls that typically cause retreats to seats at other shows; virtually the entire audience remained standing for the duration. Following with a rendition of “The Wind” that included a feverish tandem of guitar picking and fiddle slicing only made things better.

In addition to a fluid groove from which they didn’t often depart, ZBB obliged devotees with a healthy inclusion of hits. The Grammy-winning ballad “As She’s Walking Away” and troubled troubadour tale “Sweet Annie” served as brilliant examples of the band’s penchant for heartfelt narratives conveyed on a very human level. Even on more traditional country tunes, like “Colder Weather” and “Goodbye in Her Eyes,” Brown’s vivid storytelling, a hallmark of the genre, came augmented with delicately layered shading from guitarist Clay Cook and fiddler Jimmy De Martini.

A stop this auspicious wouldn’t be the same without at least a few cameos, so the outfit welcomed trumpeter Rashawn Ross of Dave Matthews Band for a spotlight on its rendition of that group’s “Ants Marching,” and toward the evening’s end brought out Jason Mraz for versions of his hits “I Won’t Give Up” and “I’m Yours,” thoroughly elating the crowd.

Generously sharing the stage, Brown also gave time to a pair of promising prospects, Sarah Dugas and A.J. Ghent, the night’s supporting acts. Dugas, one of several noteworthy acts signed to ZBB’s Southern Ground Records (Blackberry Smoke is another), delivered a stirring reading of Etta James’ signature song “At Last,” here employed as a celebratory first dance for an onstage wedding proposal that brought the crowd roaring to their feet.

Ghent, who has played with fellow guitarists Robert Randolph and Derek Trucks and currently fronts Colonel Bruce Hampton’s band, also sat in for a blistering take on “Who Knows” that culminated in a six-string battle between he and Cook that reaffirmed Ghent to be the superstar talent Brown & Co. believe him to be.

Testing out the crowd with some newer work, Brown introduced “Day for the Dead,” a Dave Grohl-produced homage to prog-rock, albeit with requisite Southern flair, if such a thing could exist. Channeling Rush’s Moving Pictures and Led Zeppelin’s fourth album, the song is a departure from the usual twang jam, offering a unique platform to showcase some instrumental adventurousness that flirted with the ominous.

In a set that spanned from acoustic covers of James Taylor (“The Frozen Man”) and the Eagles (“Seven Bridges Road”) to a full-band blast through Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” (featuring bassist John Driskell Hopkins on lead vocals), Zac Brown Band continues to transcend the often restrictive confines of country music. Whether via four-part vocal harmonies, bluegrass picking or large-scale rock progressions and crashing percussion, the ensemble expertly puts across its musical passions in a way that’s easily appreciated – and which handily lives up to the hyperbole heaped upon it.

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